October 24th

A team of archaeologists has discovered a Spanish fort built in the foothills of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains by Spanish Captain Juan Pardo in 1567, nearly 40 years before Jamestown. Fort San Juan is now considered the earliest European fort constructed in the interior of the United States.

It was a sad day at the Minerva Inn, the oldest pub in Plymouth, England, when fire regulations forced owner Shelley Jones to paint over 500 years of hand-written messages left by regulars and sailors on its timber beams and roof. The pub was frequented by Sir Francis Drake and is believed to contain beams and masts stripped from the Spanish Armada. (photos)

October 23rd

Researchers from Birmingham City University have used modern technology to re-examine the Cheapside Hoard - "the world's largest collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery discovered in a London cellar in 1912" -- and were "stunned at the advanced technologies" used to craft the items.

The coroner in Shropshire, England has declared 6th century gold ring, found by a metal detectorist, treasure. The ring, which weighs 8.21g (0.3oz), probably belonged to an individual of high status. (photo)

Aerial photography has been used to discover what experts believe was a royal deer park in Gwynedd, Wales, where nobles would have gathered "for entertaining and forging alliances.” The park is located on the Brynkir estate at Dolbenmaen and dates to the reign of Prince Llywelyn the Great in the 13th Century.

October 22nd

Archaeologists working with volunteers have discovered several spectacular pieces of Viking-made jewelry on a farm in Zealand, the largest island in Denmark. The finds include a "heart-shaped animal head with rounded ears and circular eyes," and a "central wheel cross in relief, with inlaid gold pressed into a waffle form." (photo)

"Re-enactors are a strange breed, pretty eccentric but all with a passion for history, which I guess makes them my kind of people,” said archaeologist Dr Tony Pollard at the recent Celebration of the Centuries at Fort George, near Inverness, Scotland.

For over seven years, screenwriter Philippa Langley worked to prove that King Richard III, killed at nearby Bosworth Field in 1485, was buried beneath a car park in Leicester, England. In 2012, the discovery of the remains was captured on video by Channel 4, the defining event in Langley's new book Richard III: The King in the Car Park. (video)

There will be unemployed gladiators pounding the streets of Antalya, Turkey after the closing of the Aspendos Gladiator School, where modern-day gladiators entertained tourists. The company cited "a poor tourism season" as the reason for the closing.

October 21st

The discovery of a Roman well beneath a garden in Portsmouth, England has left archaeologists intrigued - and puzzled. The well contained Roman coins, a bronze ring, and the skeletons of eight dogs. (photo)

Last year, the 14th century book, the Laws of Hywel Dda, was purchased at auction by the National Library of Wales and brought home after nearly 300 years in exile in the United States. Now the book is on display at the library in Aberystwyth, and available for all to see online.

Archaeologists know what early medieval handbells looked like from the "rusty shadows in the museum case" that still exist, but not what these bells sounded like. Now a team of experts from the National Museum of Scotland has re-created such a bell, "used by Scottish monks more than 1,000 years ago." (photo)

The history of Europe is... complicated, as anyone who has studied it can confirm. A short animated film from LiveLeak, entitled Map of Europe: 1000 AD to present day, can help understand the ebbs and flows of the nations.

Archaeologist Matt Beresford is hoping that his team will find conclusive evidence that a "lost" pre-Norman village may be found beneath the streets of the Nottinghamshire town of Southwell. The project was being funded by a UK£5,800 Heritage Lottery grant. (photos)

The Plantagenet Alliance has not given up. They want the bones of their king. Who are these people? "We are the collateral [non-direct] descendants of Richard III, we speak on behalf of him, the only people who can speak on behalf of him," replied Vanessa Roe, the group's spokesperson.

October 19th

The remains of a building near Hadrian's Wall, dating to the second century and first unearthed in the 1880s by a local archaeologist, have been identified as a Roman temple. The temple is the most north western classical temple from the Roman world yet discovered.

In 2010, the Hyde900 community group was set up to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the founding of Hyde Abbey, the presumed burial place of King Alfred the Great. Now the organization has appled to have the remains of the King analyzed in order to prove their legitimacy.

In 1943, Nazis encouraged the destruction of the gravestones in Vienna's oldest Jewish cemetery. Now through the use of ground-penetrating radar, some of the stones, dating back to the 16th century, have been re-discovered.

Officials at the Lutherhaus museum in Eisenach, Germany were shocked to learn that three original 16th century printed pamphlets by Martin Luther had been stolen from the museum July 12, 2013. The pamphlets included hand-written notes by contemporaries of Luther.

October 18th

80 years before Ricard III was buried at Leicester's Grey Friars church, three friars were beheaded by Henry IV for spreading rumors about the continued life of the deposed Richard II. Now archaeologists hope to solve the mystery by discovering their graves.

"They are the filthiest of all Allah’s creatures: they do not purify themselves after excreting or urinating or wash themselves when in a state of ritual impurity after coitus and do not even wash their hands after food," wrote Arab writer Ahmad ibn Fadlan about his encounter with Vikings in areas around the Caspian Sea and the Volga River.

Through 20 December 2013, the University of Manchester and Bristol will celebrate the 700th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the 1351 Decameron, a collection of 100 tales ranging from the erotic to the tragic, with an exhibition.

Archaeologists in Poland, investigating a roadway construction site, have discovered a group of what they consider "vampire" graves containing skeletons whose heads have been severed from their bodies and placed at their feet, "a ritualized execution designed to ensure the dead stayed dead."

October 17th

Historical documents show that in 1460 a decisive battle took place on the grounds of Northampton's Delapre Abbey, leading to Yorkist Edward lV taking the throne of England, but the actual site of the battle has never been identified. Now archaeologists hope to locate the site before the area becomes a sports field.

Some residents of Madrid are less than thrilled that a new Apple store will be opening atop the ruins of a 15th century plague hospital. The 20,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open its doors in December 2013, covering the ruins of the medieval building.

It's only fitting that Mars, the Roman god of war, would be the subject of NASA's first official venture into the world of Latin social media with photos of the surface of the planet taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Latin captions were sent August 28, 2013 on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.

Nearly 5,000 high-resolution images of artworks from the Getty Museum's collections are now available in digital format "free to use, modify, and publish for any purpose" as part of the museum's Open Content Program.

October 16th

Nearly 50 years ago, archaeologists uncovered a pair of beautiful mosaic floors, dating to the Roman era, at Chedworth Villa in Gloucestershire, England. Now the floors have been uncovered for study, leading to a discussion of a permanent building to house them. (photo)